Fighting For Nothing - Fire Emblem Awakening
by 017Bluefield
Summary: A Fire Emblem Awakening/Project Bluefield a.2012 story. / The tale of the exalt and his tactician… This is our journey to document that legend. This is how we Ashen Wolves—Dreyza, Vespyr, Kyoku, Blu, and I—met military in the fields, undid a tyranny and a conquest, and struggled against the fell dragon. This…is far, far more than just our story. Please Read & Review!
1. Prologue to Ylisse

**Author's Note** : Welcome to _Fighting For Nothing - Fire Emblem Awakening_! This was partly born from my other FEA fic, _Talking about Anything - Fire Emblem Awakening_ ; and partly from some of the recent feedback I got from that drabble set. Now, warning in advance: I don't know if I'll be able to finish this fanfic, as there are at least _four other games_ I want to do for similar fanfics. That said, I'll do my best with this story.

Please remember to leave a review! I'd really appreciate the feedback! :D

* * *

"Prologue to Ylisse"

[ Date Redacted ], [ "a.2012" ]

013-R "Trey"

Squad: "Ashen Wolves"

[ Location Redacted ]

* * *

I wish we didn't have to do this, but…if anyOne on Earth reads this, they at least deserve to know this much. What we are. What happened to us before this moment.

Okay, I'm going to outline my… _our_ …story thus far. Gotta be as brief as I can, so, if I wind up _confusing_ you instead…well, I'm sorry. I'm still not entirely good with words.

Okay, here goes…

My name is Trey.

Two years ago, a renegade military group created my fellow "subjects" and I from the genes of Zeros—a group of "those who do not exist". This group had intended to use us as super soldiers—for what purpose? They never said. And we never found out.

For a Zero came and rescued us, slaughtering anyOne who got in his way.

He only managed to rescue four of us before the rest died, due to an unexplained event. That's when he discovered who we were.

For some unknowable reason, we had become Zeros ourselves.

017-R "Dreyza", sister to the swordfighter, 017 "Bluefield".

016-R "Vespyr", sister to the late gunfighter, 016 "Olivear".

015-R "Kyoku", brother to the late bowfighter, 015 "Chisari".

And 013-R "Trey", brother to the late scythefighter, 013 "Natalise".

For the following year, we "Zeros' siblings" were left in the care of a woman named Miriam. Then, when he was ready, Bluefield, the Zero who saved us, came to take us with him. He _had_ to. Whether we wanted to or not, we'd _never_ have a normal life…or, as normal as a child bred as a soldier could ever have, anyway.

And so, we became the Ashen Wolves—the sole squad of the sole five Zeros left, cursed to exist outside of existence.

It's been two years since the incident; and one year since our group was formed.

Now, we are standing within a city of another alien world, with a magnificent castle on the horizon. Our current long-term project is simple: record the story of "the prince of Ylisse and his tactician".

Only, as I've quickly learned, it's hardly so simple.

This is another chapter in our story: our mission to record the legend of Chrom and his best friend.

This…is far, far more than just _our_ story.

Trey signing out.

* * *

 _50 72 6f 6a 65 63 74 20 42 6c 75 65 66 69 65 6c 64 20 61 66 74 65 72 20 32 30 31 32_

* * *

 _ **Information:**_

There are currently 5 Zeros—"those who do not exist"—active during 2016. They are listed below:

* * *

 **017 "Bluefield"** , also known as "Blu" to his colleagues and friends, is the advisor of the Ashen Wolves, a squad consisting of the only five Zeros in existence. A reluctant individual, he sees the Ashen Wolves as a second chance to make up for a past failure.

Appearing as a 21-year-old thin Japanese-American male, Bluefield has inch-long brown hair and brown eyes—at least, the left eye is brown. His right eye is actually a shade of blue, but turns red in certain situations. He also wears a pair of thin glasses. Blu is often seen in his favorite grey jacket, and he tends to wear brand shirts (e.g. Quiksilver), long cargo pants (or cargo shorts that cover the knees), sneakers, and (occasionally) fingerless gloves. He is also known to carry around a backpack.

Bluefield's first weapon, the ZeroSword, is a katana; Bluefield's body—specifically, the area where the human heart should be—acts as its sheath. His second weapon, the ZeroHand, is a grey sleeve-and-glove combination that replaces Blu's right arm. It has various forms, including a paw-like thing with blade-like fingers that double as a buzz saw on a wire ("Ursa Blades"), and an undulating mass of water ("Extension Flood"). He also carries either a FN Five-SeveN pistol or a USP .45 w/ tactical knife. Some of Blu's abilities include (but are not limited to) the power to "rush through time", accelerated perception and reaction time during combat, and the ability to transform into a dragon.

Miscellaneous:

Currently likes: alone time, anime, the color #005075, computers, Japan, Japanese food, his iPod, jokes (well, some), listening to music (e.g. soundtracks), philosophy, pockets, reading, staying up late, video games (both good— _Kingdom Hearts II_ , _Xenoblade Chronicles_ —and interesting— _Dark Sector_ , _MagnaCarta II_ ), walking, writing, YouTube (e.g. Extra Credits, Markiplier, Matimi0, theRadBrad, TotalBiscuit, _RWBY_ ).

Currently dislikes: being bothered for paltry reasons, the F-word, game developers that try to censor opinions, the idea of getting his stuff soaked, hypnosis, jokes that he'll misconstrue (e.g. parody, tongue-in-cheek), Konami, losing contact of others, playing the part of a god, snooty folks, spinach, "taking the lead", tea.

Currently hates: heights (acrophobia), himself (probably due to PTSD).

Plays drums.

* * *

 **017-R "Dreyza"** is the leader of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be Bluefield's sister (it's complicated), this determined young woman quickly proved herself as a capable swordfighter and leader for a group of nobodies. Though she understands Bluefield's reluctance to lead the most, she still looks up to him as a brother and senior Zero.

Appearing as a 17-year-old "Japanese-American" girl, Dreyza shares Bluefield's brown hair and eyes. Her hair features an asymmetrical braid, but is otherwise cut "boyishly" short. Her eyes, on the other hand, mirror Bluefield's: brown for the right, blue/red for the left. Her wardrobe mainly consists of jackets, T-shirts, jeans and other pants, and footwear that includes mid-lower-leg-high boots. Hates carrying purses.

Dreyza's weapon is a katana known as the Glint Sword; just like her brother and _his_ sword, her body is the sheath for this weapon. She also carries a USP .45 handgun. Some of Dreyza's abilities include (but are not limited to) accelerated perception and reaction time, inhuman agility, and the ability to transform into a dragon.

Miscellaneous:

Currently likes: anime, culture, dragons, having a living sibling, iced coffee, messing with people, movies (e.g. _Princess Mononoke_ ), music, reading, singing, snark, video games (e.g. _Portal 2_ ), YouTube.

Currently dislikes: being the only sibling with a living sibling, isolation, makeup, overly-popular memes, tyranny.

Plays guitar + vocals.

* * *

 **016-R "Vespyr"** is the designated gunner of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the sister of one of Bluefield's late squadmates (it's complicated), this mischievous young woman proved herself to be the best of the current Zeros in terms of handgun application in combat situations. Though more cheerful than her elder brother, she can get scary when necessary—enough to make a buff dude back off and run away.

Appearing as a 17-year-old "British" woman, Vespyr has wild, inch-long, dirty-blond hair. She also has green-and-yellow-and-orange eyes (think a faint orange-and-yellow flower against a backdrop of light green), and slightly dark skin. Her wardrobe includes T-shirts and long-sleeves, super-effective "magic skirts" and jeans, sneakers and boots. Doesn't like purses.

Vespyr's weapon is the Glint Magnum; it is stored in her head (yes, think of _Persona 3_ ). Some of her abilities include (but are not limited to) "bullet time", "weak point detection", and the ability to transform into a gryphon.

Miscellaneous:

Currently likes: being a foil to/messing with Kyoku, coffee, flying, jokes, lampshade hanging, movies (e.g. _The Princess Bride_ , _Star Wars_ series), teasing Dreyza, video games (e.g. _Nidhogg_ ).

Currently dislikes: bigotry, fops, makeup, tea (I know— _blasphemy!_ ).

Plays guitar or violin.

* * *

 **015-R "Kyoku"** (no, _not_ as in the Japanese word for "song") is the reconnaissance expert and medic of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the brother of Bluefield's squad leader (it's complicated), this cynical young man found his "mickle might" (not sure what that means) with the bladebow, a lethal weapon at all ranges. Kyoku tends to mope about other things, even when Dreyza and Bluefield reassure him that he needn't follow his sister's legacy.

Despite his "heritage" as a 17-year-old "Japanese" male, Kyoku speaks with a noticeable British accent (a la _Xenoblade Chronicles_ ). He has short black hair and dark-brown eyes. Kyoku tends to wear a down vest (Uniqlo brand) over a long-sleeve shirt. His wardrobe also consists of light pants, multipurpose shoes, and fingerless gloves.

Kyoku's weapon is the Glint Bladebow, which is stored in his forehead. Some of Kyoku's abilities include (but are not limited to) "bullet time", enhanced vertical leaping, and the ability to transform into a pair of _shīsā_ ("lion dog" from Okinawan mythology).

Miscellaneous:

Currently likes: anime, basketball, horror, music, reconnaissance, YouTube.

Currently dislikes: alcohol, Bluefield, bubbly personalities, overly-popular memes, s**t that "tastes like diabetes".

Plays piano.

* * *

 **013-R "Trey"** is the newest member of the Ashen Wolves. Recently discovered to be the brother of a rival Zero squad leader (it's complicated), this uncertain young man quickly found his best weapon in a gardening tool—also known as the scythe. He reminds Bluefield of himself in the past—part of the reason that he and Dreyza decided to take him under their wings.

Despite his "heritage" as a 16-year-old "British" individual, Trey speaks with an accent that one could easily mistake for American. He has messy, inch-long jet-black hair, and poison-green eyes. Trey's wardrobe includes T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, and jackets, among a few things.

Trey's weapon is the Glint Scythe, which is stored in the side of his neck. He also carries a USP .45 pistol. Some of Trey's abilities include (but are not limited to) accelerated perception and reaction time during combat, and the ability to transform into a [ Information Redacted ].

Miscellaneous:

Currently likes: anime, history, ice cream, reading, video games (e.g. _Final Fantasy X_ , _Xenoblade Chronicles_ ), walking.

Currently dislikes: arguing, death (ironic), fighting, losing someOne, isolation, "reaping".

Plays guitar + vocals.

The "main character", as it were, in this timeframe.


	2. Hello! Let Us Not Kill Each Other!

"Hello! Let Us Not Kill Each Other!"

[ Date Redacted ], [ "a.2012" ]

013-R "Trey"

Ashen Wolves

Ylisstol, Ylisse, Ylisse (previously "Unknown City, Unknown Country, Unknown Continent")

* * *

 _"When you place two things side-by-side, they provide context for each other. When that context appears to be contradictory, it creates a mental dissonance that the audience has to resolve. It forces us to stop and think."_

—Dan Floyd of Extra Credits, on dissonant juxtaposition in the video "Word Choice"

* * *

"Halt!"

I gulped as we stopped short, hands up. "Oh, boy."

The man in light-blue armor had turned his horse around to face us, silver lance pointed at our heads. "What business do you people have to warrant following us?"

We were all standing in the middle of the street leading out of the capital city. Daily life in this place—as far as I could tell, anyway—was going about as usual. Vendors advertised their goods and wares. Kids played with balls and other toys. People in garb that definitely did _not_ scream "2010's Earth" walked up and down the road, discussing things that had come up in their lives.

Somehow—and I'm guess that this is some kind of Zero-related thing—they never noticed that three important people had stopped to notice five literal nobodies who had been following them.

From the left: there was a blonde girl with wild pigtails on either side of her head and wearing a yellow-and-white "casual-wear dress". Next to her was the closest thing I've seen to a knight: a man with brown hair, stern eyes, bulky light-blue armor that somehow didn't affect his ability to ride his horse, and a silver lance that was aimed at a certain someZero's face (I'll get to them later, please hang on). And next to _him_ was a man with cobalt hair and eyes, a sympathetic expression on his face, a blue short tunic and pants, a silver(?) pauldron on one shoulder, an uncovered tattoo on the other, and a sword at his side.

On my right, Bluefield shifted uncomfortably, hands up. "Sir, I'd… _really_ appreciate it if you would take your lance away from my face."

On my left, Vespyr looked at the sight of the knight pointing his weapon at her senior teammate with some amusement. On my right (again), Bluefield wore a _Why me?_ expression behind his glasses. On _his_ right, Dreyza scratched the back of her head, wondering if she should break _this_ up and bring _that_ up (I'll tell you later). On _her_ right, Kyoku, annoyed, huffed a tuft of dark hair out of his face, looking to the side.

The knight narrowed his eyes further. "I think not. Not without a valid reason to pass off your behavior."

"Frederick, are you like this with strangers _all_ the time?" That was the blonde girl, looking up at the knight, with a concerned look on her face.

"Stay back, milady," the knight—well, Frederick—warned. "They may be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Bluefield asked (Kyoku looked at him here; with a _WTF?_ face.). "I suppose. But to _you?_ Absolutely not."

I had this sneaking suspicion that Mister Knight was the most suspicious of us, but nevermind. "And _what_ , might I ask," said he, "makes you say that?"

Dreyza stepped forward, in front of Bluefield. She was in "to business" mode. "Sir"—she was talking to the guy on the right, with the tattoo—"I understand that your people have been suffering attacks by shadowy monsters in the past week?"

"How you can address milord in such a manner, I—"

The blue-haired man raised his hand, silencing his companion. "Relax, Frederick. They may be foreigners, but it seems they may know something about those monsters."

That statement took us aback, with Bluefield being the most surprise. I mean, this blue-haired man—who we _barely just met_ —seems to trust us.

I rubbed my neck, the presence of the Glint Scythe resonating from there. "That's one way to put it, Sir…er…"

"Chrom," said the blue-haired man, looking over at me. Sir Frederick had pulled his lance back by this point, clearly _not_ comfortable with this situation. The blonde girl looked on, relaxing her grip on the staff she was holding behind her back. Right, did I mention she had a staff behind her back?

"Well, nice to meet you, Sir Chrom," Dreyza replied, smiling. "I'm Dreyza, and I lead this group of mercenaries. That's Vespyr,"—she waved cheerfully—" _that's_ Trey,"—I shyly raised my hand—" _this_ is Bluefield,"—he nodded—"and _this_ sour-face on my right is Kyoku."

"Oh, thanks a lot, Leader…" I sensed the feeling of…being insulted in his Cockney accent.

Yes, Kyoku tends to be bitter about 75% of everything. He's also our squad's medic, so we Wolves kinda _have_ to deal with it from time to time.

"Right." Dreyza turned back to face the three world-natives again. "And who might you all be?"

"Well, as I've already stated, my name is Chrom," said the blue-haired man, putting a hand on his chest. "The knight who pointed his lance at your colleague's face is Frederick the Wary, and next to him is my sister, Lissa."

"Your sister, huh?" Dreyza turned to regard the blonde lady. "Guess that means we're something alike."

Lissa perked up at that. "Really?"

"You and your big bro are working in the same group, right?"

"…Oh!" The lady clasped her hands. "So your brother works with you, too?"

Dreyza nodded proudly, while Bluefield, being Bluefield, hunched his shoulders as if to say, "Oh, boy…"

Lissa looked between the two siblings, then it clicked. "Oh, so _he's_ your big brother?"

"Yep," said Leader.

"But _you're_ the leader of your group?"

"Pretty much."

"Aw! Lucky! My brother leads a militia called the Shepherds. I just recently joined up as a healer."

 _Why were both parties being_ this _open?_ is probably the question that Frederick and I were sharing.

Blu held up his hands. "Well, to be fair, I'm objectively _worse_ leadership material than your brother _or_ my sister. That's why I'm just our squad's advisor."

"Not to interrupt on this conversation," Frederick cut in, "but, what do you five foreigners call youselves, as a so-called 'squad'?"

Okay. Here's what rammed in to my mind at this exact point in time: I found something ironic that a group of Shepherds were having a mostly-amiable conversation with Ashen Wolves.

Shepherds. Wolves.

 _Shepherds. Wolves._

Oh, crap.

Inwardly, I panicked. Of course I did. I mean, the dissonant juxtaposition was probably enough to make the Shepherds think we're up to no good.

And then Kyoku interrupted.

"Did you guys hear that?"

Huh?

Dreyza turned to him. "Hear what?" she asked.

When Kyoku turned to her, I saw his face slowly change from _What the freak?_ to _Oh, crap._ "…Umbral. One kilometer south. It's attacking someOne."

And just like that, he dashed off—past Chrom and Frederick—through the southern entrance of the capital. Frederick's mount whinnied in surprise.

"What the—HEY!" Blu raced after him. "What are you doing?!"

Vespyr patted my shoulder. "All right, newblood, get your butt into bloody gear." And with that, she and Dreyza raced past the Shepherds as well, leaving three Ones and one Zero a little surprised.

Then I finally snapped out of it. "I[t]—hey, wait up!" And I trotted after them.

* * *

[ N/A ]

* * *

"Well, _that_ …escalated rather suddenly," Chrom said, scratching the back of his head as the foreigners ran off.

"Milord, there are a handful of villages and towns in southern Ylisse," Frederick finally said, as soon as his ruffled steed had calmed down. "Loathe as I am to say it, those…people will likely get lost within an hour's time without direction."

"Well, what're we waiting for?!" Lissa exclaimed. "We've got things to do there, anyway. Let's get after them!"

"Wh-Hey, Lissa!"

As the three Shepherds raced out through the southern entrance, they failed to notice two separate parties watching them—parties that, to be fair, _would_ be easy to miss.

On the left-side rooftop, if facing south, stood a pair of stark-white twins. Skin that could be mistaken for dull-yet-fine china. Formal outfits of pure white, including turtlenecks. Two pairs of grey eyes watched their five "employees" and _their_ new acquaintances running down the road—the first step towards the task of extermination. In synchronicity, Vaire each took one step forward, and was gone.

On the right-side rooftop stood a man with no arms. An albino with crimson eyes and messy white hair. A white "straitjacket" with the sleeves untied, loosely hanging down to the waist. One could easily assume he had arms, just like anyOne else. But Noan didn't care about that anymore. With a crooked madman's grin plastered across his face, he turned and jumped off the roof, looking forward to what would happen next.

* * *

 _And so began, the road to the beginning._

* * *

"world-natives" - the plural form for entities who reside in a given world or universe

"Inwardly, I panicked." - Uh, why? —Kyoku


	3. Crossing The Street

"Crossing The Street"

[ Date Redacted ], [ "a.2012" ] - 3:27:55

015-R "Kyoku"

Ashen Wolves

Road Some Distance from Penshaw, Ylisse

* * *

 _"Anger is but a form of negative energy. Nothing to fear!"_

—Grimoire Weiss, _Nier_

* * *

 _ **"LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET!"**_

To describe the…absolute _monstrosity_ that just "spoke", picture some burly punk you'd just _love_ to punch. Or dismiss.

Now imagine that he has the neck of a woodpecker, upscaled to the thickness of a human neck.

We good so far? Okay.

 _Now_ imagine that, instead of a human head atop the neck, there is a crumbling rectangle of a _modern-day-Earth street_ , American city variety, two lanes wide, sidewalks and all. (Actually, it wasn't to scale; about half as wide, I think?)

Now imagine that _all_ of this freak is made of a black ooze and dark smoke—body and head. No human flesh, no bird, no asphalt; just "smoking" ooze, from its surface _all_ the way to its centre.

Congratulations, new reader! You just brought up an "Umbral Form" from the depths of your soul!

Your _dreadful_ human being.

…No, just kidding. That's not how they work, anyway. But at the very least, _now_ you know what I sensed attacking someOne.

I just wasn't expecting to see, from my temporary hiding place in a bush (caravan's left), more than one person there.

"H-H-H-H- _Help meeeeeee!_ " screamed the dismounted driver, trying to scramble away on his arse.

One of the two wooden carriages was completely pulverized—oak wood broken like disposable chopsticks (as in, not the usual way), crates of goods spilt, contents ruined. The horses had made like bananas and split, running terrified in different directions. A group of world-natives—villagers passing with the caravan—were either hiding from the Umbral behind the other carriage, or running for Ylisstol as fast as possible.

Is it just me, or do we tend to pop up in a world just before an Umbral attacks?

Ah, well. I didn't really care. Without a word, I reached up to my forehead and pulled out a multi-fold rectangle with a thread in the middle.

 _Ck-Clank! Ck-Clank! BOING!_

In one second, I was holding in my hands the Glint Bladebow—a weapon that was half-bow and half-arch-of-a-blade. Quickly pulling it away from my head lest I lacerate my face, I gripped the handle and pulled the string taut a few times. Satisfied, I reached back into the quiver on my back, pulled out an arrow.

 _BOOM! BOOM!_

"YAAAHHHH!" the driver yelped as the street-headed Umbral rammed its head into the ground, twice in succession, sending dust and rocks flying everywhere.

I took a deep breath, and drew the arrow back. Through the Bladebow's metal-hoop ironsights, I could make out the Umbral's woodpecker neck; on the right, the civvie was trying to get away from becoming some sort of "road sandwich".

 _ **"YOU'RE UNDER ARREST FOR SPEEDING, PUNK!"**_ snarled the Umbral. It pulled its head back.

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

 _How annoying,_ I thought as I let my arrow fly.

* * *

30 seconds later…

017-R "Dreyza"

* * *

Let's set the stage we were racing across: a long road of dirt, about a car lane wide. Green fields stretched out on either side, with the left side ending about six meters out with dense forest. Just as well, too, since from here, the road from Ylisstol slowly arced to the left before heading right a kilometer or two out.

As we were running down the road, I knew we were in trouble when we saw A.) Kyoku jumping high above the trees, looking behind him, and B.) a dark bulk of a shape bulldozing the trees behind him.

Bluefield saw it, too. "UMBRAL AHEAD!" he yelled.

With a "triumphant" _CRACK!_ , a massive monster of a wrestler smashed its way into view, trees splintering from its wide "beak" of asphalt road.

We all skidded to a halt. Trey, gasping for breath, stopped on my right, exhaustion quickly forgotten upon seeing the street-headed monster. "Wh-What is that?!" he exclaimed.

At that moment, Kyoku landed (somewhat clumsily) on my left. "Persistent bastard…" he gasped, turning back to face it, bow drawn.

The Umbral suddenly threw its "head" back in a roar— _ **"FREAKOUTTAHERERIGHTNOW"**_ —before sending itself _hurtling towards us_.

Crap.

"Scatter!" I barked.

From behind, Vespyr grabbed Trey by the shoulders and dove to the right; while Blu, Kyoku and I threw ourselves left. As I rolled across the ground, I reached for my chest…

…and as I landed onto my feet, turning around to face our prey, my Glint Sword elongated to full size in my hand, its katana blade glinting in the sunlight (well, duh).

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Blu hadn't followed suit. Instead of drawing his own blade, he pulled out his FN Five-SeveN handgun from his waist (this time). On the other side of the road, Vespyr had already pulled out her Glint Magnum from her left temple, and was walking further to her left, giving Trey a wide berth.

Wise decision, too.

Trey reoriented himself to face the monster. It wasn't his first time fighting Umbrals, but that didn't change how frightened he was—how frightened _I_ was—of these freaks. Breathing as evenly as he could, Trey reached up to his neck with his right hand and made a yanking motion outward.

 _Whishhhhh-Whsh-Clan-Clan-Clan-Clan-Clang!_

With a flash of light and a fluid clockwise spiral motion, Trey drew out his Glint Scythe in an offensive stance, its curved blade a wicked glint in the afternoon sun.

The "road rager" Umbral skid dedicated to a halt as its road head thing twisted 180 degrees at us. As its dark neck twisted, I saw an arrow impaled through the side of its coiled throat.

I glanced at Kyoku. "That shot your handiwork?"

The archer shrugged. "Coulda done it better."

"Hey, Dreyza!" Vespyr's Estuary accent rang out from my far left. "Friendlies coming in from behind the roadblocker!"

I leaned my head to the right. Sure enough, Sir Chrom and his fellows were running down the road toward us, stopping 10 meters away from the Umbral (who hadn't noticed them) and 20 meters away from us.

"By the gods!" exclaimed Sir Frederick, after stopping his steed. "What manner of… _thing is_ that?!"

Good news: the Umbral didn't hear him.

Bad news?

 _ **"RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT!"**_

Yeah, the big Umbral was charging us again. _Stomp, Stomp, Stomp!_

Without warning, Kyoku fired another arrow. _Whsht—THUNK!_

"Nice horn."

"Quiet, Leader."

And with that, we charged.

Ves and Blu unleashed a barrage of bullets against the Umbral's flat face, which glanced off harmlessly but still disturbed its charge. Kyoku fired arrow after razorhead arrow, slowly turning the "asphalt head" into a pincushion. Irritated, the Umbral swung out, its left arm out clawed—only for it to go flying away.

As it stumbled back, clutching the new stump in its arm, I whipped down my sword, the Umbral ooze evaporating from the blade.

"Trey!" I called, jumping back.

"On it!" With that, the reaper charged, hands pale as he gripped the Glint Scythe.

 _ **"LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET!"**_ roared the Umbral, screaming to the sky, ready to throw its head forward, its neck exposed.

Trey pulled back, then swung his scythe counterclockwise. _SCHLING!_

 _SCHLOCK!_

An eerie silence hung in the air. The three Shepherds gaped at us, _and_ the headless freak of nature.

The Umbral's body snapped out of its shock, stumbled down onto its back.

Then, out of shear dumb luck, its head landed on its upper torso. _Hard._

Frederick's horse kicked up again, with startled whinnying.

"Whoa, whoa!" exclaimed its rider, trying to reign it in.

Upon seeing that, we Zeros all looked at each other.

And almost as if on freaking cue, the Umbral twitched—and shot one arm up, fingers stuttering. _**"GERGHRUGH…"**_

"Agh!" "ACK!" We jumped back. Shepherds 1, Ashen Wolves 1.

"Wh— _Trey!_ " Kyoku accused.

"I'm sorry!" poor Trey exclaimed. "What didn't I do?!"

"I got it…" And Bluefield, pulling it out of nowhere (okay, not really, but it seemed like it to me), stabbed his Zero Sword hellwards, curved blade glowing, through its head and heart.

 _ **"GRAAAAAAAAAGH…!"**_ it gurgled in excruciating pain as it burned away, sparks flying where its "flesh" once was. Within about ten seconds, only embers remained on the ground at our feet, and even those were evaporating.

I believe the rare sentence in this case would be, "What a cross road." Sucks we never used it.

Exhaling, Blu pulled away this sword and—to the Shepherds' shock—sheathed it back into his chest. Within about a second, the part that was sticking out, the handle and base of the blade, vanished into a vapor of light and shadow. The other Wolves and I followed suit, putting our weapons away in places that humans (as I've learned early as a Zero) physically _shouldn't_ be allowed to.

With that done and no other Umbrals in sight, I looked up at the three Shepherds sheepishly. "Sorry about that," I said, hand behind head. "Where were we before the interruption?"

 _ **"I believe it was the title you Zeros go by, 017-R 'Dreyza',"**_ piped up a familiar pair of voices—one boy, one girl.

"Oh, hi again," said Blu, turning to the source of the voices. The rest of us—Ones and Zeros alike—followed suit, Zeros very mildly annoyed (Trey was sweating bullets about something), Ones _very_ surprised.

Striding out of the wood, steps in disturbing sync, came a pair of ghostly-pale ten-year-old twins in turtlenecks—one grey-eyed boy on the right, one grey-eyed girl on the left.

Newcomers, let me introduce you to our employer.

 _ **"I believe that 2.1 kilometers past the ruined caravan is the Penshaw Inn, which serves a mildly salty stew,"**_ said Vaire in unison. _**"Ashen Wolves, Shepherds—shall we?"**_

* * *

"made like bananas and split" - Not every day you see Kyoku _try_ to be funny. —Vespyr

"the Umbral's woodpecker neck" - When I actually got a _good look_ at that, my first reaction was "…What." —Kyoku

"stopping 10 meters away from the Umbral (who hadn't noticed them)" - If you somehow haven't noticed, Umbrals aren't exactly the brightest lightbulbs in your house. —Dreyza

"Ves and Blu unleashed a barrage of bullets" - Of course, Ves doesn't really have to deal with "actually reloading" her weapon. Much like her brother's counterpart, the Glint Magnum doesn't use an ammunition magazine system of any description. All I know is, it's "science fantasy stuff". —Bluefield

 _ **"LOOK BOTH WAYS BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET!"**_ (2nd time) - Yeah, these things tend to scream things repeatedly. And nonsensically. —Kyoku

"Whoa, whoa!" - Think how Punished "Vemon" Snake says it in a certain game. —Bluefield

"I looked up at the three Shepherds sheepishly" - "Pun not intended" and "I regret nothing". :) —Dreyza


End file.
